ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 932 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.16% of East West Bancorp worth $20,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Tobam raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 131.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $100.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $101.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.42.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. The trade was a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on EWBC shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.77.

East West Bancorp Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.